[IxDA Discuss] submit button for list of items

[Christopher Fahey]

> I have a list of items that are turned on/off with checkboxes.
> These can work instantly, via AJAX, or with a submit button. 
...
> Ironically, the "updating results" message IS the feedback, 
> so it's not that you're not missing it, it's that it's so 
> effective you don't even consider it feedback anymore. :)


The whole idea of a "submit" button harkens back to a time when interfaces
were locked into strict states due to the limitations of (a) memory, (b)
speed, and (c) programmer skill and creativity. 

But nowadays computers are faster and programmers are better (or at least
they have libraries to leverage), so in many cases where a submit button
might be considered de rigeur, perhaps a submit button is hardly necessary
at all. I won't cite examples, I'm sure you can think of plenty. 

Maybe we should decide to go with more efficient UI design even when it
defies user expectations and assumptions, simply to push the envelope and
improve the overall "base" of the quality of user interface design. Yes,
such changes may be confusing or frustrating to users at first. But unless a
critical mass of UI designers decide to break the mold and go with a new
paradigm, we'll be stuck with inefficient legacy UI design patterns. 

This is the rationale, for example, for why many web designers and their
companies jumped on the 1024-width bandwagon seemingly a year or two early
-- they wanted to lead the way, even at risk of writing off some users. They
were comfortable pushing users, too, to upgrade their systems. This is a
good thing for the rest of us, I think.

-Cf

Christopher Fahey
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